When I was a kid and Crocodile Dundee was popular (I predate Steve Irwin’s fame by about a decade, apparently), I was terrified that I’d find myself in some isolated swamp full of crocodiles, and that those crocodiles would, of course, want to eat me. I was maybe too young to watch the movie. Anyway, [...]

Image credit: MartinRe
Yes, it’s true. Despite their fearsome reputation, crocodiles can’t chew. But that’s not to say they won’t kill you—in fact, death by crocodile is probably more agonizing precisely because they’re unable to masticate.
You see, crocodiles’ jaws aren’t wired to move sideways, so they can’t grind food down in a traditional chewing motion. What [...]

Vicki Lowing lives in Australia with her three pet crocodiles. She adopted Johnie, her first crocodile, fifteen years ago. Johnie is now 6 feet long! Lowing tells how the crocodile would get into bed with her and her then-husband, and even slept with her young son.
“Johnie would jump on Andrew’s bed nearly every night. They [...]

A tree snail found in the tropical forest near Cairns, Australia has been named after the late Steve Irwin. Dr. John Stanisic of the Queensland Museum named it Crikey steveirwini.
The scientist described Crikey steveirwini as “a colourful snail, with swirling bands of creamy yellow, orange-brown and chocolate giving the shell an overall khaki appearance”.
“It was [...]